It's not just awful, it's boring and really really annoying too. You can't think right, nothing makes sense anymore, you feel slow and fuzzy and tired all the time... it's like your head is full of mold instead of brains. They teach you in Church that God is the source of all knowledge, power, and truth... but until you cut yourself off from it, you don't really know. It's not just something "they" say... He really is the one and only Source of knowledge, power, and truth. Luckily, He wants to give you everything you can take, just as fast as you can accept it... you've just got to be prepared.
The first part of what Nephi says is key: "... that has the law given,". If you don't know, then you're not judged according to what you didn't know about... but neither can you be fully rewarded for following it. Jacob tells his people that the Lamanites are more righteous than they are, because the Lamanite men love their wives and children, take only one wife, and are faithful. The Lamanites have not been specifically taught the law of chastity, however; "... the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.". The Nephites of the time have been taught the law of chastity, and are willfully (on purpose, knowing full well what they are doing) breaking it.
Because the Lamanites are following the law, they receive some blessing for doing so... but these blessings could be thought of as the "natural consequences" of being faithful (in reality, of course, there are no "natural consequences", there is only God's law and the blessings for being faithful to it). They have happier, stronger family relationships with close bonds of mutual trust... even though they don't consciously know they're following God's law at all... they don't even know God. But when we follow God's laws, we are blessed for doing so, even if we have no idea that we are doing it.
On the other hand, when we transgress the law, we receive no such blessings. But there's quite a difference between transgressing a law you do not know, and sinning; which is to willfully break a law you do know.
The key is whether or not you know the law. If you don't know the law, you receive blessings (including greater sensitivity to the Spirit) for keeping it if you happen to do so, and you don't receive the blessings if you do not keep it... that's it, you either get the blessing or not, end of line. It gets a bit more complicated if you do know the law. If you know the law and keep it, you receive the blessings for keeping that law, and you receive additional blessings for knowingly obeying God's laws (including specific additional blessings if the law you keep was accepted under covenant), and you receive additional light and knowledge as you need it and are capable of receiving it. Now, if you do know the law and you break it willfully it's a whole different thing. Not only do you not receive the blessings for keeping the law, you also accept the penalty for having broken a law you knew about (including specific additional penalties if the law you broke was accepted under covenant), and not only do you forfeit the additional light and knowledge, you also have your current light and knowledge taken from you!
This combination of losing not only the 'regular' blessings, but also the additional blessings, light and knowledge, and having to accept the penalties of breaking a covenant is so devastating that the Church will sometimes release a person from their covenants (and the associated responsibilities, blessings and penalties) if that person shows themselves incapable or unwilling to keep those covenants. This is not done as any kind of punishment, but rather as a way to prevent that person from becoming so completely overwhelmed that they give in to despair and never recover.
By the grace of God (and not by any virtue of my own) I've not yet fallen that far... and I am working now to ensure I never will. The depth of despair and pain I've already endured is plenty, thanks, and I really don't want any more.
The part that most annoys me, is that I have really good memories of the times when I was obedient to God's laws, and I can clearly remember how much smarter, happier, and just plain better I was. I have personal experience of ignorantly transgressing the law, and not receiving the associated blessings. At the time I had no idea what what wrong, but I see it clearly now. I know all about sin... and the (so much) more painful loss of not only the promised blessings, but also the light and knowledge brought by the Spirit. Finally, I have made and then broken sacred covenants, and have felt the awful pain and darkness of having done so. It's nothing like transgressing the law, or even sin... "damnation" is really the only appropriate description for it. The loss of all light and joy and knowing that I willfully did it to myself with no one else to blame... that's what really brings home the pain. Not only do you lose what you had... you remove yourself so far from God's light that the pain and confusion and despair is exactly as horrific as your former strength and clarity and hope were joyous.
But just when the Adversary would have you believe that all hope is lost (and that is his game plan, get you to sin a little, then a lot, then just give up and die so you can be miserable forever just like him) you get a second chance ( and a third, a fourth, a 490th, and so on).
Repentance! it really does deserve the italics and the exclamation point... because it needs to be exclaimed from the rooftops! Really, it does... there's a very good reason that the Lord consistently tells his prophets and leaders that "they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord". Because that's what we need to hear. And not just hear it, but do it too! Missionaries get to preach "...Jesus Christ, and him crucified" because non-members are mostly transgressing the law, which is remedied by simply learning and living the law, not to mention that repentance and baptism for the remission of sins is the hoped for result of missionary activity.
Those sent to teach active (or not-so-active) members are all about repentance. We're all of us mortal, subject to error and sin both, and I, at least, do both on a depressingly regular basis. Hence the need for regular and honest repentance.
I love what king Lamoni's father (himself king of all the Lamanites) asked, when Aaron had taught him the gospel. He said: "...what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy... ?" and when Aaron replied "...if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest." The king immediately bowed himself down and began to pray, saying: "O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee..." (emphasis added).
I will give away all my sins to know thee...
That man was amazing. He had faith and he was ready to change, and he wasn't going to let anything come between him and the Lord. There have been times when I was not able to say this, when I believed Satan's lies, and thought that my sins were more attractive than the gospel and the blessings of God. But luckily sin is boring and it gets really old amazing quickly. Then you've got two options: more sin (and usually worse) or stop sinning! It's funny how that second option is never in the list of options the Adversary gives you.
But it's really not that hard to work out: if sin is boring and stupid and useless, if you are bored and stupid and useless when you sin... then stop doing it! But sin is (initially) exciting, and sometimes pleasurable... so your body wants to do it... and if the spirit is weak the flesh is perfectly willing to walk all over it. That's why you so often have to get help (most often from those who love you), and if you're really lucky, the help God sends you will be super annoying and not give up. Because they do love you, even if you're being boring, stupid, and useless. That's why we have relatives... to keep us on the straight and narrow, no matter how bad our own sense of direction may be.
I, for one, have some amazingly
